Weddington topples Charlotte Christian
By Bill Kiser CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
By Bill Kiser CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
- MONROE
Weddington is trying to let everyone know it’s got one of the state’s best high school football teams.
The word may spread after the Warriors’ 16-6 victory over three-time North Carolina private school champs Charlotte Christian during Saturday’s Union County Gridiron Clash.
Weddington (3-0) – No. 8 in the Sweet 16 – dominated the 12th-ranked Knights (1-2) for three quarters and a good portion of the fourth, and did so on both sides of the ball.
“Charlotte Christian is a very good football program,” Warriors coach Tim Carson said. “This just tells us that we’ve got a good football team at Weddington, and our team is just as good as those at the private schools.”
Grayson Willingham threw for 144 yards and one touchdown – a 21-yarder to Mark Tyulyu midway through the first quarter – and Keith Duncan hit field goals of 33, 23 and 45 yards.
But it was on defense where the Warriors shined, especially in the first half. They held Charlotte Christian to just two first downs and 29 total yards in 16 plays. Meanwhile, Weddington’s offense was on the field for 39 plays, had 159 total yards and 12 first downs.
The Knights turned things around in the second half, but it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter that they broke the shutout, scoring on John Turley’s 2-yard pass to Jonathan Durham.
“The way I look at it, it was two halves of football,” Charlotte Christian coach Jason Estep said. “They beat us in the first half 13-0, we beat them in the second half 6-3.
“We’ve got to put four quarters of football together. That’s the only positive we can take out of it. We just didn’t come ready to play in the first half.”
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/high-school/article34203282.html#storylink=cpy
